Reigning Olympic champion Belinda Bencic has been told it may take a few weeks before she returns back to full health after doctors detected something in her lungs which was ‘not normal.’
The world No.24 is currently playing in the St Petersburg Open where she is the fifth seed. In her two opening matches she has defeated Veronika Kudermetova in three sets followed by a more straightforward triumph over Kaja Juvan. During those encounters the Swiss player was seen breathing heavily at times which has been put down to the after effects of her catching COVID-19.
Bencic tested positive for the virus after playing in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition in Abu Dhabi last December. She was among a series of players who caught COVID-19 during the time of the event, including Rafael Nadal and Emma Raducanu. The virus affects people in different ways with Bencic saying at the time that she was suffering from ‘severe symptoms.’
Whilst she is now recovered, the 24-year-old revealed that a subsequent medical examination has found an issue with her lungs but she didn’t go into details about the exact diagnosis. She has been told that it could take up to three months for her to fully recover.
“It was not easy,” Bencic said of her recovery from COVID during a press conference following her win over Juvan. “I have been diagnosed with something in my lungs which is not normal. And still, I’m happy I can play but it’s going to take me a while to recover—they said about two, three months.
“I think it happens with a lot of athletes that your fitness, it’s not the same level.
“So, it’s very tough but I have to, you know, just work with what I have.”
Bencic says she had to start her 2022 season by accepting that some of her results on the Tour ‘is not going to be the best’ during the first couple of months. At the Sydney International she reached the quarter-finals before suffering a second round loss at the Australian Open.
“It’s also what happened, in Australia,” she said. “I kind of expected I will maybe not have the best chance to win a lot of matches, but I’m trying my best to get back to shape.”
Bencic will next play second seed Anett Kontaveit in St Petersburg. This week she is bidding to win her sixth WTA title and second on Russian soil after the 2019 Kremlin Cup.
